Animorphs: The Finding
by Lilka O'Conner
Summary: The Visser isn't alone in his conquest. Through trickery he has acquired a strong body guard. She is Malia, the Warrior, a combination of human and alien.
1. Prologue

Animorphs: The Finding

My name is Malia. I am human, but I am also alien. Let me start at the beginning so that you can better understand. On a distant, watery world is a race of aliens known as the Malianith. They are somewhat like the merfolk of human lore, but they look more like a dolphin or shark combined with a human. This race is divided into two clans. The Nagi were extremely peaceful beings who had extremely advanced technology, especially in the area of genetics. The Haniro were the exact opposite. They were as violent as they could be without wiping themselves out and hated technology with a passion.

The two groups mutually ignored each other until about eighteen Earth years ago. The Andalites had warned the Nagi of the Yeerks. They knew that their technology and knowledge would eventually draw the parasites to them, so they called a council of the Nagi and Haniro leaders. There was a bunch of debate and boring stuff like that. In the end, it became obvious that the Nagi would not fight, period, and that the Haniro would not use the technology offered to them, end of discussion.

They finally came to a middle ground, though. The Nagi would create a warrior to fight for them. A Haniro war-master named Ba'giroth offered use of his DNA as he had some rather unique traits. He was slimmer and shorter than the rest and instead of a single dorsal fin on his back, there were several spike-like, poisonous protrusions running down his spine. All of this had contributed to his great skills in battle.

The Nagi agreed and quickly retrieved the sample. Now they had to find something to combine it with. Dag-bithar, the head scientist of Project Protector, recalled an alien species they had visited once a few centuries before. He remembered reading notes on how versatile and adaptive the species was. He pitched the idea to the rest of the team and they all agreed. The DNA sample they had was still good, too, which only made it even better. That's how the second 'parent' became a human.

Ba'giroth remained at the secret base for the entire process. He watched with amazement as the fetus developed. He may have been a Haniro, but he had a fascination with the things that technology coud teach him, if not for technology itself. Then, the day came for Genetic Experiment 2275 PP to be 'born.' Everyone present waited with abated breath as they took the tube to the surface. They weren't sure if the child would need air when it was born, like humans, or if the gills would start functioning right away.

It was successful. I spent the first couple of days near the surface as I gained control of my bodily functions, then was taken back to the secret base. The next fourteen years were filled with training and lessons. I learned how to fight, how to program a computer, how to by-pass security systems. They never gave me a name, the scientists who created me. Ba'giroth, however, decided to name me Malia, which is the Haniro word for 'loving warrior.' I never understood how a warrior could be loving. Of course, at the time, I didn't realize that Ba'giroth had been a warrior before coming to the base. He never talked about life before the experiment.

Anyway, it was my fourteenth birthday when they finally decided to test me. I don't know what they had planned because the test never happened. It was almost the end of my sleep cycle when Ba'giroth barged into my chambers and dragged me out, half-asleep. I heard the explosions, however, and that woke me up. The base was under attack.

The moment that the Malianith had been fearing had finally arrived. The Yeerks somehow managed to catch the entire planet by surprise. It was quick, they tell me. I wouldn't know. I was knocked unconcious in the first five minutes. I had been trained in warfare since birth, but the sight of Ba'giroth with a spear through his stomach was enough to freeze me in place. It's one thing to hear about battle injuries and quite another to see them.

That moment was all that it took. I was struck from behind. When I woke up, I was in a tank with chains around my wrists. Ba'giroth was in a tank across the room, also chained. His stomach had been bandaged and he had a strange collar on. He was still unconcious.

I was trying to get out of my chains when _he_ came in, the abomination. At the time, he was Visser Five. The only Yeerk to ever take an Andalite body; the only Yeerk with the ability to morph. I could feel a shiver run down my spine when he entered the chamber. He seemed to radiate evil and hatred.

(Ah, so you must be the Warrior.) He smiled as he spoke, that strange Andalite smile, but it was cold. He didn't even bother to keep his words private. Arrogant. (As you can see, I have your mentor here, captive. The collar around his neck is really quite special. With a single word, I can inject him with a very deadly poison.)

(How do I know that you haven't infested him?) I answered. For that matter, why hadn't they infested me? Why wasn't there a slimy slug in my head?

Visser Five no longer looked happy. He scowled, though it was strange to see, and shook his head. (We tried, oh did we try. But for some odd reason, every time a Yeerk entered the brain cavity, it died. After some research, Nagi scientists informed us that the Malianith brain chemistry is rather—unfriendly to we Yeerks.)

I stared at him. I can't have heard him right. Nagi scientists giving him information? No, that couldn't be right. The Nagi were fanatical when it came to keeping their information from other races. I had to have misheard him.

(Ah, I see that you are surprised. Yes, little girl, your Nagi scientists have willingly joined us to spare their lives. Some of them actually helped plan the attack for the minimum loss of life. Though I must say that the Haniro are far less willing. We will find a way to control them. The Malianith are too valuable to simply exterminate.)

I said nothing more. I stopped trying to get out of the chains. I just let myself fall to the bottom of the tank. This couldn't be happening. Because of some cowardly, treacherous Nagi, the entire Malianith people had been taken prisoner. I started crying, which is strange for me. You see, the Malianith can't cry, they don't have the tear ducts to do it. It was just another reminder of how different I was from everyone around me.

Because I was in water, though, the Visser couldn't tell that I cried for my people. Yes, I still think of them as my people. After all, it was only a few Nagi that had betrayed an entire planet.

(Now, Warrior, I have a proposition for you,) Visser Five continued, sounding smug. (I have a proposition for you.)


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Malia

Become his 'body guard,' like that overgrown _crapsha_ worm needed one. He probably just wanted to keep me close, keep me away from the other Vissers. See, by keeping me nearby, he had an advantage over the others. Malianith, like Leerans, are slightly telepathic. The difference is that we can build a kind of mental wall that blocks thoughts. We don't read minds if we don't want to.

That's how it took less than six months for Visser Five to become Visser Three. Using me, he rooted out the ones above him. He had plans for me to meet Visser One, some day, so that he could get rid of her. But, again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

When Visser Three was assigned to Earth, I went with him. When we first arrived, I just stared out of the window that's in my tank. This was the planet that my 'mother' had come from. Of course, the sample was from a few centuries before, so there was no way I could find her. Just the same, as I watched the planet spin slowly on its axis, I imagined finding her and living a normal life. Then I cried. I cried for all of the people that would be captured by the Yeerks.

For two years, the Visser gave me an hour a day that I could spend as I wished on the planet. The rest of the time, he kept me where he could see me. Even when I visited Ba'giroth, he was in the room with me. Ba'giroth didn't speak to me when I visited him. Can't say I blame him. I was betraying everything he had taught me, just to keep him alive.

I cried myself to sleep every night, alone in my tank. There were other Malianith on the ship, each one fitted with special control collars. The Nagi traitors had helped create them. I'm not sure how they work, but they send great pain, pain beyond imagining, through the mind of the disobediant.

Most Haniro died from them in the first two weeks. Of those still remaining, some bided their time and planned escapes. Others just gave in to the Yeerks, void of all hope. I admire the first group and pity the second, but I also identify with them better.

I made that cursed deal with the Visser to save the only piece of my life that I had left. I had lost my own hope, but I still believed that Ba'giroth had some.

Many Malianith's hope rekindled when the Andalite ships emerged from Z-space and headed towards the small blue and green planet. Not mine. I was on the Blade Ship with Visser Three. I watched as the fleet was annihilated. Then, when Visser Three went down after the Andalite prince, I watched.

Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul has seriously injured when we found him in the abandoned construction sight. I admired him, as did many Haniro. He was an ideal warrior, someone to be respected. He looked right at me and tried to speak to me. In my shame, put up my wall and turned away. I couldn't watch as the Visser's morph swallowed him and the greedy Taxxon's gobbled up the pieces that fell. I just wanted to throw up at that moment. No matter how strong my wall was, I could still hear Elfangor's screams.

After that, I thought it was over for the humans. Then something amazing happened.

I was at the Yeerk Pool with Visser Three a few days later when animals appeared out of nowhere and attacked! I almost couldn't believe it. Andalites had survived! I kept my mind closed from them. They were hope for my second home, and I wasn't going to take that from Earth. I stood back as the Visser went after them. He wasn't in any danger, so I didn't feel the need to help him.

Granted, I got a pretty sound yelling at, later. He never struck me, though. I'm too valuable to him. Over the next couple of months, the bandits did even more damage to the Yeerks. I stopped crying myself to sleep. For the first time in nearly two and a half years, I had hope.

That brings us up to speed. Where this really starts is in my martial arts training. Yes, I get trained in human fighting techniques. It's actually been helpful. The Haniro teach centering the mind, but their ways aren't as effective with me. As a half-human, I get all of the emotions that go with it. Sure the Malianith have feelings, but they are nothing compared to human emotions. The things that I learned growing up were better suited for the more tame ways of the Malianith. What Epslin two five one four taught me was like enlightenment.

So how do I learn them with a tail that's six feet long? I don't. The Malianith are strange, to say the least, in the fact that they have the ability to alter themselves within their genetic code. So say that a guy has gray eyes, but has the genes for purple eyes. If he wants to, he can turns his eyes purple and vice versa. Because I have human DNA, I can make myself look human. I can go from a short Malianith to a short human form. I stand roughly five feet tall with a body that's somewhere between stocky and slim. My hair is bright, bright red and very unruly. I love it. I have green eyes and light skin that is lightly freckled. A lot of the guys tell me I'm good looking, but why should I believe them?

Anyway, one four was in the body of a Chinese martial arts master. I felt sorry for the human, but grateful for the knowledge that I gained. We were going over weapon styles. Fans, to be exact. So now you're probably thinking, 'Fans? What's she going to do, blow 'em away?'

First of all, these are not ordinary fans. These suckers have metal blades in the folds. Ancient Chinese women would sometimes use them for protection, sometimes for assassination. I made sure to do research on them before I started.

Now, I'm not bragging or anything, but I am hot stuff with the fans. One four has said that when he watches me with them, his host body calms down and actually compliments the Yeerk on his training. Some of the voluntary human-Controllers have told me that it's like watching a dance, a beautiful, deadly dance.

So, he was showing me some more moves with the fans and I was just eating it up. We were into the much more complex combos, now, and it took all of my concentration to master them.

"Wonderful! She learns so quickly!" one four commented.

"Thank you, sir," I answered as I continued.

"Thank you for what?"

The confused tone of his voice forced me to look up. He looked rather perplexed. I stopped my practice and held the fans down at my side.

"Didn't you say something about me learning quickly?" Now I was confused. I know that I heard him say it, so why was he acting like he hadn't?

"I didn't say that," he answered. "My host was commenting on it, though. He is very impressed with you and always remains calm when we work together. But how could you know what he said?"

How could I know? My wall was up, at least I thought it was. It almost never slipped when I was practicing. "I must have let my telepathy slip, a bit. I am sorry for intruding on the conversation between you and your host."

Then I put my full focus on my mental wall. I hated listening to Yeerks talk to their hosts. It usually involved screaming and begging. But even with all of my concentration on blocking out thoughts, I could hear the host and one four discussing which moves to teach next.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was about two days later and I was on my free hour. For some reason, I had decided to join the Sharing, a front organization for the Yeerks, on their little getaway in the mountains. It was beautiful country. The forest was wonderful and the lake was stunning. I wanted to change to my Malianith form and swim through the clear waters, but there were too many non-Controllers in the area.

So I contented myself to walk through the woods. I heard voices and at first dismissed them as a couple of kids that had broken off from the main group. Then I heard mention of 'Andalite bandits.' My head jerked up and I was instantly alert. Could they possibly be at the lake? Watching everything?

I knew I should just leave it alone, in case the Visser asked. Then again, he wasn't there and I didn't have to tell him _everything_ I did on my free hour. That's why I snuck up on the three voices. I recognized one of them as Erek, a Controller. I didn't know the other boy or the girl. I was close enough to hear what they were saying, and, unfortunately, thinking. My telepathy was acting up, again.

The boy I didn't know was confused. Something about Erek being impossibly old, something about androids. I tried to block it. I didn't want to see into anyone's mind. But just like during my training session, I couldn't keep the thoughts out no matter how hard I tried. The boy was human, but he had memories of terrifying morphs. He had a memory of Elfangor.

Erek had memories that no boy his age should have. He remembered Egyptian pyrimads being built, Shakespearian plays being shown for the first time. He remembered a world full of life and fun, a world where no predators roamed. There was a strange quality to his memories, though. They were perfectly preserved, like videos. It was the same with the girl.

I couldn't take anymore. I rushed out of there as fast as I could. My hour was almost up, anyway, so I headed to the bug fighter that would take me back to the Pool ship. When I got there, I returned to the Visser's side, where I stayed for the rest of the day. While he slept, I went to my tank.

I didn't sleep. My telepathy was still on the fritz. I caught random bits of the Visser's dreams, mostly of battles he'd been in and the hosts he had had. Amid the bits were memories of my homeworld, how he laughed as he lead the invasion force.

There was one memory from that bit that caught my full attention. Ba'giroth was sprawled on the floor before the Visser, his body split open from neck to abdomen, his eyes lifeless. My breath caught in my throat and my eyes went wide. That had to be just a dream, a wish that he sorely wanted to fulfill. I wanted to believe that it was a dream, but there was a nagging voice in the back of my head. It would explain a lot, like why he never spoke to me, not even to curse me.

But there was only one way to be certain. I pushed up and out of the tank. By the time I pulled myself onto the floor, I was human. The Visser's stalk eyes opened for a brief moment, but I could see that it was a flash of memory that had caused it. I remained still, not even breathing, until his eyes closed again. He may have been sleeping, but I didn't want to give him a reason to wake up.

His eyes shut and I sighed in relief as I pushed myself to my feet. It was easy enough to reach the holding tank for Ba'giroth. I was the Visser's right hand, no one was going to stop me. I did expect some troubles when I reached the tank. It was under constant guard and I wasn't supposed to go in alone. I had tried it once, when I first made the deal, and had been locked in my tank for three weeks as punishment.

Thus my surprise when I arrived and there were no guards outside the door. I instantly went on alert. This wasn't right. I opened my mind to those around me, not that I really needed to. The only mind within two hundred yards was behind the door. I tried the door and it opened with ease. Now I knew something was wrong. Either that or I had somehow come to the wrong place. Every time I visited, the Visser made a big show of all of the security on the tank.

Inside, however, was the familiar room with the raised tank that held Ba'giroth. There was a Malianith in the tank, all right, but it wasn't Ba'giroth. There were similarities, to be certain, but it wasn't him. This stranger was sleeping, so I opened his mind and searched through it. With each thought I read, my anger grew.

Ba'giroth was dead, killed by the Visser. This Malianith before me was a cousin and had many of the same genetic traits as Ba'giroth, thus his ability to make himself look like my mentor. He was Haniro, yet he willingly did the Visser's bidding. After each time I visited, he laughed at me and my ignorance. I could see it all so clearly, now.

In exchange for his cooperation, the Visser gave him whatever he wanted: rare foods, rare weapons, even his choice of Malinaith females in the breeding program.

I felt sick. How could I let myself be fooled?

I wanted to kill the traitor. I could see it happening in my mind. I would sneak up on him, it would be easy. Just let my arm fin make a clean slice, where didn't matter. The poison would do the rest of the work. It would be quick, only thirty seconds, but the pain would make it seem like it lasted for hours.

I could feel the rush from the kill. I could… I could hear Ba'giroth telling me, (There is no honor in killing those who cannot defend themselves. The Haniro who does such a thing shames himself and his family. In the eyes of the Water Mother and Warrior Father, he has committed an atrocity that must be punished. Attacking the defensless is the best way to loose your soul.)

The Haniro in the tank would be defenseless against me. I couldn't go against everything I believed in. If I did that I would loose everything. I left the room and wandered about the ship, dazed and confused. I wanted to hurt something, anything, but none of the people on the ship were enough to take me on. Especially if they weren't expecting an attack. Defenseless against me. Safe from me.

Erek. I had to find Erek. He wouldn't be on the ship. I wasn't even sure when his next scheduled pool stop was. I sighed and went back to the Visser's quarters. He still slept soundly, so I quietly slipped back into my tank and returned to Malianith. I wouldn't attack him. He was defenseless when he slept.

Then I thought back to that afternoon. Erek had been talking to a human who could morph. If that were true, then it was likely that most, if not all, of the other 'Andalites' were actually humans. Erek could give them some information. I could give them more. I was always present at the Visser's meetings. I could give them all the information they needed. Spy on the Visser. It sounded fitting after two years of zero privacy. Besides, Ba'giroth had always taught me that the Water Mother works in mysterious ways. Perhaps this was what she had meant for me all along.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I was able to get in touch with Erik the next day. I didn't tell him anything much, just that I needed to speak with him the next time he came to the Poolship for his feeding. I'm not sure what he was thinking as telepathy doesn't work over communication systems.

Yes, I was still having troubles with my telepathy. It was frustrating to try and think, let alone do anything else, while voices bombarded my mind. I had to figure out what was wrong, and I had to do it fast.

Anyway, Erik was scheduled to come to the Poolship that very day. Shortly after leaving the 'unloading dock' at the pool, he was going to meet me in the cafeteria. Visser Three wasn't as strict with me on the ships, as long as I stayed away from the hanger bays, so I was easily able to slip away from him to meet with Erik.

When I arrived, he was already sitting at a table with the girl I had seen at the lake. I nodded to them and sat down with them. In his thoughts, I saw what he really looked like. I saw that he had a rather powerful holographic device and sound dampener.

Good.

(I know what you are, Erik,) I sent to him calmly. For a moment, his face looked surprised and I could see his mind working over time. (I also know that the Visser has been lying to me. Extend your hologram so that we can freely discuss this.)

There was a shimmering and suddenly, Erik wasn't Erik anymore. Instead, I was looking at what looked like a steel and ivory dog that walked on its hind legs. I could still see the crowd around us, but I was certain that they couldn't see or hear what was really going on.

"So you've finally opened your eyes," the mechanical hound said to me. "Some of the Chee had bets going for how long it would take you."

"I'll let you know when I want your criticism," I snapped. He really wasn't starting this off well. "I'm here to make you an offer. I know that you've been in contact with the bandits. I also know that most of them are human and that you're going to offer information exchange."

"And everyone said that you don't like reading minds," Erik commented lightly. "I'll have to let them know that they're wrong."

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to. I've been having problems, lately. Now shut up and listen. You have a good spy network, yippee, but I can get you more than all of the others combined. I can get it from the source."

"By spying on Visser Three." Erik nodded his head in thought. I could see that he knew exactly where this was going. "So, what can you tell me about Matcom and the crystal?"

I should have been surprised by the question, but I could see in his mind that having that crystal meant he could re-write his programming. A Pemalite crystal, created by his makers. I could also see that the bandits were going to be going in after it.

"Tell your friends that they can't waste time," I told him. "I don't have specifics, but I know that they're putting in additional security measures. From what I got off the Visser, the new system goes active in two days' time. He doesn't know every detail about it, certainly not enough to get your group past it." And then I went on to tell him what I knew about the current security at the Matcom building.

"Thanks, Malia," Erik said to me. I could tell that he meant it. "And I'm sorry about Ba'giroth. He was a great warrior."

"I've got to be getting back, now," I told him, choosing to ignore his condolences. Ba'giroth was the last thing I wanted to discuss right then.

There was a shimmering and the noise level returned to normal. I left the cafeteria and returned to the Visser's side. He was going to have a meeting with some of his leading Yeerks and wanted me present. I guess he didn't even trust his most loyal servants. It was an uninteresting meeting. They were discussing feeding schedules and how long it would take to get the new Kandrona on-line. There was a lot of tension, as there always is when Visser Three is around.

The Yeerk is not known for his caring nature.

He must have been feeling generous, though, because after the meeting he gave me the rest of the day to wander about the ship as I pleased. I spent a lot of time in the training room, working with the different weapon styles. It passed the time quickly. Before I realized it, hours had passed.

I was pretty beat from the exercise. Who wouldn't be after three hours? I went to my tank in the Visser's chambers. He wasn't there. If he needed me, he wouldn't see any problem with waking me. So I slipped into the tank, changed to Malianith, and went to sleep.

I had some pretty whacked out dreams. I was swimming through the oceans where I had grown up. Ba'giroth was there with his blood son Da'niroth. We were playing _Taj'nira_, a game that's used for training young warriors. One of the balls suddenly turned into another female Malianith and she was begging Da'niroth to save her twin children.

I looked over at Ba'giroth to see if he knew what was going on, but there was a large gash in his chest and his purple blood was spilling into the ocean. I screamed in the dream and woke up screaming. My heart was thumping so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.

"Warrior, you have a visitor," a gruff voice called down into the tank.

I looked up and saw a Hork-Bajir looking at me. I swam to the top of the tank and hauled myself out. I quickly changed to human and stood up next to him. I always felt short around the normal human males. Hork-Bajir make me feel like a midget.

"What visitor?" I asked him.

"Haniro wanting to see you," was the simple answer. "He's waiting outside. Should I let him in?"

"Yes."

I was curious, to say the least. No Haniro had ever asked to see me. Most of them thought I was a traitor. I could understand those sentiments. I had often thought of myself as a traitor.

The Hork-Bajir left the room, keeping the door open. I turned away from the door at that point. I could hear the Malianith slithering in, using his strong arms to assist in propeling him forward.

(So what they say is true,) a very familiar thought-speak voice said, unjudgemental. (The great Warrior allied with Visser Three.)

I could feel my heart stop. A trick, it had to be a trick. The Visser somehow knew that I had found out about Ba'giroth, so he was trying something else with me. But no, the thoughts I read confirmed it. I turned around and looked at him. Just like I remembered him.

Da'niroth, blood son of Ba'giroth, my brother, was right in front of me.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I stared at him, my jaw hanging open. His thoughts told me that he was glad to see me, that he wasn't mad at me. He believed I had taken to offer so that I could keep close to the Visser and spy on him. Well, it was true enough, now.

(Da'niroth!) I cried in thought-speak, finally breaking the silence. I rushed forward and hugged him. It wasn't a warrior-like thing to do, or even a Haniro behavior, so I was pleasantly surprised when he hugged me back.

(I missed you, too, Malia,) he assured me. (But I am not here just to hug you and be assured that you are well.) He let go of me and moved toward the tank. He peered down into the depths and was silent for a long time. (You are aware of the breeding programs?)

I had heard of the breeding programs. The Yeerks had started them to create the next generation of hosts, a generation that would know nothing but slavery. A generation that would think what the Yeerks did was right and the only way.

(I know of them,) I whispered with a bowed head. The Visser had plans for me in the breeding program, but he had yet to try anything.

(I have a friend who is part of it. About three weeks ago, they took her children from her, twins. They are somewhere on this ship.)

I had a vague idea of where he was going with it, but I didn't like it. I didn't say anything, though. I wanted him to continue on his own.

(She knows that you are my sister and she knows that you have access to the children produced from the program. She wants you to find a way to rescue them.)

There it was. At least that explained part of the weird dream. I must have been picking up his thoughts. I thought about what it would mean for me if I helped. If I got caught, I wouldn't be a very good source of info for Erik. On the other hand, if it worked, there would be some hope for my people. I could help get more than just the twins out.

(I'll do it,) I told him, keeping my head bowed. (Get about five other Malianiths together. Let me know when you have them. I'll give you more information. Until then, make regular visits with me so that our meetings will not seem suspicious.)

(Thank you, Malia. I will do as you ask. With business out of the way, let us speak of what we've been doing.)

And we did. We spent the rest of the time speaking about how we had faired since the invasion. It seemed that I had been doing better than him. Before Da'niroth had been transferred to Earth, he was on a pool ship orbiting the Taxxon homeworld. That was where he had met Bul'chikar, a Nagi female about the same age as myself and the friend he had mentioned.

She was also part of the Yeerk's Malianith breeding program. Apparently, the Yeerks wanted Da'niroth and Bul'chikar to mate. Both of them had other plans, though. She had also been transferred to Earth, and had escaped the moment they came close to the planet. Now, she was somewhere on the planet, swimming free in the ocean and praying for her children.

Then, the Hork-Bajir came and 'escorted'Da'niroth back to the holding tanks. It seemed to require a lot of kicking and dragging. When they had left, I punched the nearest wall. My hand hurt like hell, but it helped to imagine that I had just punched the Visser in the face. I stewed over every sorrow he had caused.

I went to bed angry. When I woke up, I was still angry. I was angry as I escorted the Visser around the ship. Then, I found out what had happened at the Matcom building. The bandits had been successful. That cheered me up a bit. The next time I saw Erik, he took me aside and put his hologram around me.

"Thanks," he told me in a solumn voice. Even though his face couldshow no emotion, his voice gave away plenty. He had killed. I could see his thoughts. It had been horrible, beyond description. I shuddered and turned my abilities on other minds. I won't even try to describe what I saw in the Chee's mind.

"I wish you could forget it," I told him, trying desperately to shut out the aweful images. "I wish I could forget it."

He nodded in understanding. "We've been in contact with some of the Nagi scientists that were on Project Protector. As a goodwill token, we're giving you some info. I told them about your recent problem with your telepathy. The head scientist knows what's wrong."

That peaked my interest. Dag'bithar had been kind to me, but treated me as an experiment. "What did he have to say?"

"When they were mapping out the human DNA that was used to create you, they found some interesting codes that seemed to be inactive. So when they combined the human DNA with the Malianith DNA, they made the codes active."

"What were these codes for?" Now I was just getting nervous.

"Apparently, they were dormant traits. The thing is, they couldn't find these traits in any of the other samples."

"Just tell me what the damn traits are!" I screamed at him. He was really wearing my patience thin, and it wasn't exactly perfect to begin with.

"Well, you know how the humans have all those theories about ancient visitors from the stars? It seems that at least one of them was true."


End file.
